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Water & Infrastructure

Water is central to Michigan’s identity and economy, but monitoring its continued health and safety is not enough. That’s why the University of Michigan is partnering with communities across the state and beyond to address critical infrastructure issues that affect the health and safety of water resources. U-M researchers, for example, are developing autonomous technologies for aging stormwater systems to reduce the impacts of flooding — potentially saving lives and preventing billions of dollars in property damage. This type of collaborative approach to solving critical infrastructure issues will better integrate our built and natural environments, helping protect one of the state’s most valuable resources.

News and Impact

Earth Month
Earth Month puts focus on U-M sustainability efforts
SEAS master's students Maxwell Tanner (left) and Daniel Patmon.
Master's project focuses on closing knowledge gaps in water resource management, climate adaptation efforts in water-scarce nations
satellite view of the great lakes region
Urine-to-fertilizer effort part of NSF Regional Innovation Engine
Frank Ettawageshik, executive director of the United Tribes of Michigan spoke at the Great Lakes Compact Symposium.Frank Ettawageshik, executive director of the United Tribes of Michigan, speaking at the Great Lakes Compact Symposium. Photo credit: Nick Hagen Photography
Great Lakes Compact Symposium: Celebrating and reflecting on the compact at 15 years
After opening access door and entering the hole in the wall to reach the water supply line behind the water fountain, Nancy Love collects a water sample. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering
Building Flint’s trust in its drinking water
Malika Stuerznickel, a doctoral candidate in anthropology, steers the Inland Seas schooner on the Detroit River.
Scholars and schooners
Zebra mussels cover a rock in a lake. Invasive mussels cost the U.S. an estimated $1 billion per year in removal and repair. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
UMSI launches theme year on water conservation and access
Simulation results for the 1000-year flood that occurred in Nashville, TN in 2010. The graphic shows how the simulation can provide flood prediction with varying levels of detail, at the scale of the watershed (left panel), to the city sector level (middle), and finally the neighborhood level—showing flooding levels at a resolution of a few meters (right). Image credit: J. Kim, E. Rakhmatulina, F. Sedlar, V. Ivanov, HYDROWIT Group, University of Michigan
U-M-led team receives $7.5M to predict, communicate flood risk
an aerial image of a lakefront
New guiding principles urgently needed for Great Lakes stewardship, U-M researchers say
Algal bloom in the western basin of Lake Erie, as seen by aircraft during a flyover in September 2017. Image credit: Zachary Haslick, Aerial Associates Photography Inc.
Smaller-than-average harmful algal bloom predicted for western Lake Erie
concrete pipes
Suburban Detroit water unaffordability: Causes, consequences, and the need for comprehensive policy interventions
view of the biological station
A century of learning at the U-M Biological Station
Pictured from left to right: Nayyirah Shariff, Maria Lopez-Nunez, Anthony Rogers-Wright, and isaac sevier.
Earth Day event focused on ways to build a just future for all
Hands under a stream of water
How households adapt to water scarcity: New study sheds light on hidden costs of global Issue
Assessing the Future of Pumped Hydro Storage in the Great Lakes
New Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Program projects receive over $1M in funding
many plastic bottles
‘Talking Trash’ discussion focuses on reducing single-use plastics
Yukun Sun, a graduate student research assistant, and William Leal, an undergraduate research assistant, both in the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at U-M, place microplastic pellets on the water in the wind wave tank at the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory. Image credit: Robert Coelius, Michigan Engineering
Tracking ocean microplastics from space
a flooded road
Collaborative project to help improve coastal community resilience in Michigan, Wisconsin
BlueConduit homepage top image
U-M startup joins White House partnership to remove lead pipes
Dow Fellows
Announcing the 2023 Dow Sustainability Fellows and Dow Distinguished Awards
SEAS grad student Jaron Rothkop and Drew FitzGerald stand next to a Water Box at the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village in Flint, MI.
SEAS graduate student's project brings clean water to struggling communities
Center for Sustainable Systems factsheet poster logo
Now available: 2022 edition of peer-reviewed Sustainability Factsheet Collection covering consumption patterns, impacts and solutions
Goshen resident Victoria Gray shows the depth of the floodwaters at her home.
When climate change hits home
A water pump in the desert
The West’s water crisis is worse than you think
Isabella Shehab
Examining the effects of flooding on Detroit residents' mental health